Why I started my blog and How you too can start yours

I wasn’t much of a reader but when I later discovered the place of personal development, my appetite for learning went through the roof. I just went all out to reading things in the areas of my interest like leadership, branding, excellence, personal development, money, relationship etc. Through personal development, I was able to build my capacity on certain areas such as how to design graphics, make flash presentations, how to develop your business acumen, design website from scratch etc.

Because of my love for learning and my burning passion to add value to people, I found myself giving out advice on life issues, business, branding, leadership more like a life or business coach. People started telling their friends about me and I found myself among people who were even older than me.

When I migrated to the Internet

In 2012, someone told me about blogging so I did a little research on it and found that it is a great way to share my message to the world.

I started observing the likes of Michael Hyatt, Tylor Ilori, John C. Maxwell, Brendon Buchard, Seth Gordin and Ofili Okechukwu. I started a free hosted blog on blogspot but I felt constrained and that did not really encourage me to keep up. As a designer, design layout mattered to me and I was not getting the best from the free hosted platform.

Finally in April 2013 when I started working as a management consultant, I decided to setup my own self hosted blog.

I spent time tweaking and re-tweaking, at a point my website got hacked and then I had to start all over again. Trust me I, almost gave up.

I finally got a layout and told myself to stick with it and get moving.

I observed that I posted when I felt like, then as I got occupied at work, I could no longer keep up with writing. Some times I write and I feel like it is not good enough and that took my consistency off balance.

One day I had to talk to myself, I said if I call myself a brand strategist and leadership coach and then I can’t lead myself to build the brand I am worthy of, then I am living a lie.

So I decided to practice what I preach and start a #21 day non-stop blog post. You know what they say about building habits in 21 days.

This article is the first of the 21 days blog post.

What are the benefits of blogging?

The benefits of blogging are quite much, you can Google it and find over a ton of results (including this post) but I will share with you three benefits that I think stands out that will inspire you start your own blog.

1. Blogging helps you to build your brand as a thought leader

If you are someone who is passionate about lifestyle, Leadership, Health, relationship or Spirituality and start out blogging on your passion. You eventually build your thought leadership and people find you to be an expert in that field. I have received invitations to speak because people read on my website that I am knowledgeable in the areas I write on. And yeah, I got paid for the speaking engagement too.

2. Blogging helps you to build your writing skills

I read somewhere that “everyone has a book in them”. If you plan to write a book someday, you will find that as you blog, you get better at writing and this is a skill that will make your book sell-able in the future.

3. Blogging makes you disciplined

When you decide on the days you will be posting your blogs, you will need to be consistent with your chosen date. (something I failed to do when I started out). Consistency requires discipline; and discipline is key to excellence and mastery.

How can you get started?

I will like to share five things you need to do in order to set up your own blog and start sharing your message to the world.

1. Decide on the area you want to be writing on

You can find the footprints of the area you will like to build your thought leadership around in things your are passionate about, your life experiences or your career. Why I advice on blogging on things you are passionate about is that you will not have to struggle to write on things you are passionate about.

2. Choose a name for your blog/platform

Decide the name of your blog, I choose my name because I write on array of topics. I know Pat flynn uses smartpassiveincome.com because that forms the hub of what he writes on. I advice you use your name because this will serve as your domain name and it also helps to build your brand. However, you can choose to make your domain name to be the theme name of your platform.

3. Decide on your host

You may choose to start out with a free hosted domain like I did (thats if you do not have enough resources to acquire a self hosted domain) but it is better to get a self hosted domain. You do not need to be a programmer to build a blog, there are some options to use in building your blog. I know of blogspot, tumblr and wordpress. I suggest wordpress because it is quite user friendly and you can find alot of help online just incase you get stuck setting it up. I use wordpress for my blog and I think it is quite remarkable.

4. Design your visual identity

You need an image that will be identified with you. This image is can be a designed logo or just your name. You also need to get a theme that portrays your brand colour or clearly displays the look and feel you are pleased with. The rest has to do with setting up the website installation process. It is not that difficult if you follow the steps.

5. Prepare your pilot content

It is advicible to have a couple of post ready when you start out (like four to seven articles ready), so that when visitors visit your website, it does not look like it suffering from lack of content.

6. Publish your post and keep writing.

Some bloggers publish once a week, some publish everyday. I know Seth Gordin does that. It is up to you to choose a schedule that you are comfortable with and most importantly one that you know you will be consistent with. It take consistency to build a brand.

7. Share your post on your social media channels

Your immediate community are your friends on Facebook; your followers on Twitter and contacts on whatever messenger App you use.

If you take this seven steps, you are well on your way to building your global brand.

I will like to know how it went with setting up your blog and if you already have one, share your experiences with us.

Thanks.

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About Edward

My name is Edward Enejoh. I am a Leadership Alchemist and Digital Strategist. I inspire and educate individuals and business owners on how to succeed in life and thrive in a digital world. I believe there is a leader in you; allow me to help you make a difference to your world, gain relevance and grow your influence
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About Me

My name is Edward Enejoh. I am a Leadership Alchemist and Digital Strategist. I inspire and educate individuals and business owners on how to succeed in life and thrive in a digital world. I believe there is a leader in you; allow me to help you make a difference to your world, gain relevance and grow your influence.

About Edward Enejoh

My name is Edward Enejoh. I am a Leadership Alchemist and Digital Strategist. I inspire and educate individuals and business owners on how to succeed in life and thrive in a digital world. I believe there is a leader in you; allow me to help you make a difference to your world, gain relevance and grow your influence.